A Christmas Ball
by AnimeFreak688
Summary: The annua Seigaku ball is coming up. who will Ryoma take with him?


1**A Christmas Ball**

Discalimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis. It is the property of its creator.

Echizen Ryoma stood in front of the Ryuzaki household, wondering why he was there. Oh yeah, it was because Fuji and his other sempai-tachi had blackmailed him into asking Ryuzaki Sakuno out for the annual Seigaku Christmas Ball.

Not that he particularly minded asking Sakuno out. She had, after all, become quite a beautiful lady since junior high (they're in high school now). In fact, Ryoma would have asked her out anyway without his sempai-tachi interfering.

Ding-dong! Ryoma rang the doorbell and waited patiently for Sakuno to answer. However, when the said girl opened the door, Ryoma's jaw dropped mentally (of course if would never drop physically; Echizen Ryoma is too cool for that).

While usually stunning, in a beautiful pink gown that hugged her very desirable curves and further accented Sakuno's natural beauty, she looked exquisite. The dress had two layers, with a diagonal cut of pink going from her slim waistline. Red silk bordered the chest-hugging neckline (this is the type of dress that is sleeve-less and shoulder-less), diagonal cut first layer, and the rest of the second layer that fell gracefully to her feet. Pink low-heeled dress shoes peeked out from the edge of the dress. She wore neither makeup nor jewelry save for a little pink lip-gloss and a strand of pearls at her neck. Sakuno had let her long, silky, and slightly wavy chocolate-colored hair loose, letting it flow elegantly down her modestly covered back.

Struggling to control his raging sixteen-year-old hormones (didn't know he had them!), Ryoma painstakingly kept his cool façade and proffered his arm to Sakuno, leading her to his side as he said, "Let's go," as the two walked to the school underneath the black velvet sky, with the stars and moon shining above like jewels.

After the ball

Sakuno plopped down on her bed in her pajamas, having changed out of her dress after Ryoma had walked her back home. For her, this Christmas night would always remain with her. It had been so funny seeing Eji and his girlfriend Satsuki dance together; they had truly looked hilarious (not that they had really looked like they cared). Then, there had been Fuji and his girlfriend, Sakuno's older cousin, Sakura. Whereas Eji and Sakuno had been funny, those two had looked elegant and beautiful, Sakura in a flowing, rippling, soft blue dress and Fuji in a tuxedo. Tezuka and his date (and girlfriend even though the Ice Queen would never admit it), Keiko, had been busy controlling the Regulars and their dates (running laps). Kaido had come with (surprise, surprise) with Tomo and the two had really seemed happy together. They were… Interesting together. One was hyper, and the other scary (or so often times perceived as). But then again, opposites do attract. Inui had had no date, but certainly looked liked he had enjoyed the ball, scribbling the whole time in his trusty notebook. Oishi had come with his girlfriend, Yukina, a girl who looked delicate and gentle, but was actually the number one ranked kendo master in Japan. Momo had come with Tachibana An and Sakuno could just imagine Kamio at home, steaming at the thought of his An-chan with the bicycle thief.

But what really made the night memorable was what had happened at the end, during the last waltz.

Flashback

Sakuno sighed quietly under her breath in disappointment. While it had been pleasant talking to her friends and watching the Regulars dance (or attempt to dance as in Momo and An's case), she had not danced once with Ryoma. The said tennis prodigy had drunk Ponta and watched his sempai-tachi with relative disinterest the whole time. He did not even notice the elaborate decorations of the school gym. How could you not notice that every table at the side had silver with gold trimmed tablecloth with a vase of wonderfully coordinated (most likely Sakura's work) roses and that fake snow and glitter was falling on the dance floor? Or that the roof had been remodeled to look like a night sky and that their was a glittering crystal chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling? How could anyone not notice? Sakuno had been blown away when she stepped into the cool blue light of the gym. Yet Ryoma had said nothing.

The band's announcement of the last song startled Sakuno out of her thoughts. Depressed, she watched Fuji graciously offer his hand to Sakura and lead her to the dance floor, all the while smiling at her with love. At Sakura's neck, a beautiful, heart-shaped, elaborately decorated pendant hung from a thing, delicate golden chain, must likely given to her just today by Fuji.

_I'm so envious of Sakura_, Sakuno thought as she watched the couple dance, _She has a boyfriend who obviously loves her. I mean, Fuji even said once that Sakura was his life. Sakura is so lucky. _

While she had been thinking, Sakuno had not noticed that Ryoma had asked her, "Do you want to dance?" from next to her.

"Sakuno, do you want to dance?" Eyes widening a little from shock, Sakuno turned her gaze to her prince. "Huh?" she asked in a surprised tone.

"I asked if you want to dance," Ryoma stated again in a calm voice.

"Um, sure." With that Ryoma took Sakuno's slender hand in his rough (from tennis) ones and led her to the dance floor. There, he pulled her close and Ryuzaki Sakuno, for the first time, danced slowly with her prince.

At first, shock overwhelmed her, but then Sakuno relaxed. This was what she had been waiting for all night. Smiling serenely, she laid her head on Ryoma's strong shoulder. She glimpsed others couples, such as Momo and An dancing as well, though those two were having a fun game of Dodge Momo's Inexperienced Dancing Feet. Even Tezuka and Keiko were dancing, though a little stiffly, but their eyes, though seemingly cold, masked their love for each other.

When Sakuno had laid her head on his shoulder, Ryoma had stiffened not because he didn't like it, but because he almost had lost control of his hormones at that moment. Luckily, because he was now a full head taller than Sakuno now, she had not seen him like that. _The dance is almost over_, he thought, _but I still haven't given my gift to her_ (what's the bet it's either a racket, tennis ball, or manual on tennis?).

Knowing it was now or never, Ryoma bent down and whispered in Sakuno's ear, "Is it okay if we go our a bit?"

Shocked out of her reverie, Sakuno nodded and allowed herself to be led out by Ryoma out of curiosity. And while she did not hear it, Ryoma's heart at the moment was pounding like crazy.

Outside, the air was cool, crisp, and refreshing. A wind was blowing though it wasn't harsh. Snow covered the ground and trees. Combined with the glowing lights coming from within the school, the Seigaku forest grounds in the back of the school looked like a winter fairy tale scene.

"Sakuno, I have to tell you something," Ryoma said, turning to face the girl standing at his side.

"Hai?" the Sakuno replied, face tilted and eyes filled with curiosity.

"I-I love you."

A silence fell after Ryoma's confession. Shock showed clearly in Sakuno's face as she stared blankly at Ryoma, too surprised to say anything. Taking the silence as a no, Ryoma turned away and tried to make his escape when…Sakuno grabbed his arm, turned him around to face her, and brought him in close for a long kiss right on the lips.

Now it was Ryoma's turn to be shocked. But after a while, he relaxed and returned the kiss, taking control of it. Then, what had started out as a simple sweet innocent kiss turned into a passionate one, filled with love. Once Ryoma got a taste of Sakuno, he needed even more. When the two broke away, both were gasping for breath. Then, Sakuno smiled sweetly up at her prince as smiled, saying, "Does that express my feelings enough?"

Smirking, Ryoma gathered the petite girl close and whispered, "I knew it," before kissing her again.

After spending some time there, all alone, Ryoma noticed the time on his watch from below his tuxedo sleeves and whispered in Sakuno's ears, "We better go."

Pouting, Sakuno looked up at him and said, "Can't we stay here a little longer?"

Smirking, Ryoma said, "No, or else your grandmother's going to kill me."

"Fine," Sakuno said dejectedly, looking miserable. Unable to resist, Ryoma kissed her again. "Is that better?" he asked when he released her.

Smiling, Sakuno gave him a quick peck on the cheeks and said, "Much."

After, they had reached Sakuno's doorway, Ryoma said, "Sakuno, I have something to give you." While his voice didn't seem so, he was actually very nervous.

"What is it?" Sakuno asked in a curious voice.

"Here." Embarrassed, Ryoma handed Sakuno a wrapped jewelry box, looking away as Sakuno took the paper off.

Sakuno gave a gasp of awe. Nestled in soft white tissue was a beautiful heart locket. In fancy English cursive, the words of "My Love"(awww) were inscribed on the surface. Underneath the words was a spray of roses, each made with rubies for the flowers and emeralds for the stems and leaves.

"Ryoma-kun…I don't know what to say," Sakuno said as tears of joy started to form in her eyes.

"Then don't say anything," Ryoma said (he had turned around after Sakuno had unwrapped his gift to see her reaction). And he kissed her again.

Unfortunately, before he could deepen it, Ryuzaki Sumire had popped out of nowhere and had told Sakuno to hurry inside. Due to that, he had to let go off her, but not before giving her a kiss on the cheek, before strolling off on a leisurely pace.

End Flashback

Sakuno smiled inwardly to herself as sleep slowly took over her. _Yes, today was definitely been a most treasured and memorable night_, was her last thought before falling to night's clutches.


End file.
